Back then, after the Fourth Princess Ling Xijie was expelled from the palace, her second father, Shu Rongze Pei Jiuyan, who was then the most favored of the six concubines, completely fell from power. The emperor was furious and originally planned to banish him to the cold palace, but Pei Jiuyan cried, "Your Majesty, you promised my brother that you would take good care of me on his behalf. Have you forgotten those words?"
Because of this cry of plea, the emperor remembered his white moonlight Pei Jiusheng, and finally decided to forgive Pei Jiuyan's sins. Later, although he was out of favor, he survived safely in the palace.
Four years ago, when news of the Fourth Princess' death arrived from the Imperial Mausoleum, Pei Jiuyan immediately spat out a mouthful of blood. Not long after, news of Shu Rongze's death reached the Biluo Palace. He ultimately followed his vicious daughter to heaven.
Ling Xihe originally thought that the fourth princess died of illness due to overwork, but half a year ago, she accidentally learned that it was Ling Xicheng who paid a large price to bribe the commander of the guards guarding the imperial mausoleum, and sent Ling Xijie away with a cup of poisoned wine.
Ling Xihe suspected that Pei Jiuyan's death from vomiting blood might be related to Ling Xicheng. She found a place where only the two sisters were together and asked the question in her heart.
Ling Xicheng said, "Pei Jiu was disgusted with this man's many evil deeds. I sent him on his way early, which can be considered a good deed. This will accumulate virtue for my next life. Good and evil will eventually be rewarded. If the heavens don't make the decision for me, then I will make the decision for myself."
Recalling this, Ling Xihe couldn't help but sigh again. A few years ago, Empress Fu Jun had some health problems and could no longer bear children.
After Xue Wu died, the Queen Mother originally wanted Empress Fu to adopt Ling Xicheng. In this way, Empress Fu would have a daughter, and Ling Xicheng would have the noble status of a legitimate daughter and the powerful backing of the Fu family. It was a win-win situation no matter how you looked at it.
All I can say is that the Queen Mother had good intentions, but she is a forgetful person and has long forgotten that Xue Wu fell out of favor because of Queen Fu.
If Ling Xicheng had been willing to give in to Empress Fu Jun at the time, Empress Fu Jun, due to her mother's instructions and her own inability to bear children, might have really accepted her and paved the way for her. However, Ling Xicheng flatly refused to become Empress Fu Jun's daughter.
But this sister had always dreamed of having a good family background and a respectable and well-off father. However, when such an opportunity finally came, all Ling Xicheng missed was her biological father, Xue Wu, a young man with a haggard face and who was drunk all day long.
Xue Wu proved his love for her with his own death, and she will live with guilt for the rest of her life. She will never forgive herself, let alone Fu Junhou, who once harmed her father.
Thinking of Ling Xicheng and Empress Fu's antagonistic relationship, Ling Xihe felt a deep headache. Because Empress Fu had only one son, she had long since given up on competing with his father. Empress Fu's biological mother, Xuanming Fairy, was a figure at court, and she showed considerable support for the Crown Princess. The entire Fu family seemed to be siding with her. Because of this, Ling Xihe reciprocated the favor, always caring for Empress Fu's only son, Ling Shuzhou.
In terms of closeness, Ling Xihe certainly hopes that the position of Lakshmi's legal husband belongs to Ling Shuzhou, rather than the fifth prince Ling Shuming.
On the other hand, Lakshmi also felt a headache after hearing Ling Shuming's affectionate confession.
It's true that Ling Shuming had a very good reputation in the imperial capital. He was proficient in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting, and was the epitome of gentleness and virtue. But even if this man had a thousand good qualities, that couldn't change his status as a prince.
Marrying a prince meant she couldn't beat him, couldn't scold him, and was treated like a patriarch. With such a virtuous husband, how could she continue to flirt with prostitutes? After all, those pitiful men who had fallen into prostitution were still waiting for her to save them. So, even for the sake of the happiness of thousands of men, she had to reject the Fifth Prince.
Lakshmi said seriously, "Your Highness the Fifth Prince is well-known. I shouldn't have rejected you, but I already have a lover. Even though you are a prince, you should still follow the principle of first come first served. So, I am truly sorry."
The sweetheart Lakshmi mentioned was naturally fabricated, but no one present knew that. Ling Shuzhou and Ling Shuming no longer cared about their secret rivalry; they both revealed expressions of being struck by lightning.
In stark contrast to the other two's reactions, Ling Shumo placed the chess piece she'd been playing with back into the jar, a deeply satisfied smile on her face. She'd been agonizing over not being able to divide Lakshmi equally between her two sons. Now that the Loyal and Brave General had announced he already had a loved one, Ling Shuzhou and Ling Shuming no longer had to fight over it. Since neither of them could get the prize, no one would accuse her, the empress dowager, of favoring one over the other.
Ling Shumo tapped the knuckles of her index finger on the chessboard twice and urged, "Lakshmi, please sit down and play a game of chess with me. And by the way, tell me the name of the young man you like, so that I can grant you two a marriage and make you a couple."
Lakshmi was completely silenced by the Emperor's question. She had had some close friends over the years, but those men were definitely not worthy of being her principal wife.
If she married a young man of low status just to please the emperor, her unpresentable husband would be the topic of conversation among the dignitaries in the imperial capital for at least three months after the marriage. It would be better for her to marry the prince home as her husband.
If outsiders learned that she was considering marrying the prince as a last resort, they would probably point fingers at her and call her ungrateful. After all, he was a prince. Marrying him meant establishing a relationship with the emperor. This was something many people could only dream of.
Lakshmi was caught in a dilemma for a moment. Finally, a look of sadness appeared on her face, and she lied, "To be honest, Your Majesty, my sweetheart passed away six months ago. Otherwise, we would have been married for many years by now."
When Ling Shumo heard that Lakshmi's so-called lover had died, the smile on her face gradually disappeared. Because her smile shifted to the faces of Ling Shuzhou and Ling Shuming.
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